The Internet has become a common resource for entertainment seekers. Through various entertainment websites, virtual communities have been established that allow users to create a virtual or online reality for themselves. Chatrooms are provided where users are represented by avatars to chat, or otherwise interact, with the avatars of other users. Computer games have also crossed over into the online world, allowing users to play against or along with each other from the comfort of their own personal Internet connections located across town or across the country. When it comes to most online entertainment activities including gaming and virtual communities, a disconnection unfortunately exists between objects in the real world and objects in the online world.
More recently, entertainment websites have been developed in which the website content is directly tied to a product that is purchased by a user. For example, as disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0192864 to Ganz, incorporated herein by reference, a user purchases a toy that includes a secret code provided in the toy packaging. Access to a certain interactive content on the website provided by the website provider, such as the manufacturer of the toy or some other provider, is restricted to users who purchase a toy. When the user carries out a registration process on the website, which involves entering the secret code, a virtual world is presented to the user. The virtual world includes a virtual toy character corresponding to the toy purchased by the user. The user can participate in various interactive activities involving the virtual toy. The user may then purchase additional toys and enter the secret codes provided with those toys to add additional virtual toys to the virtual world. These virtual toys can interact with each other, thereby enhancing the user's entertainment experiences.
Due to the tremendous popularity of the above described online activities, the number of participants in a particular activity or location can grow so large that it can be difficult, unwieldy, or even impossible to display all of the avatars, characters, or other items that are currently participating in the activity or location. Furthermore, the location or activity area may be so large, that not all of it can be displayed on the user's display. Some means of managing such user's display in a manner satisfactory to the user but manageable by the system is therefore desirable.